{"product_id":"circling-the-elephant-a-comparative-theology-of-religious-diversity-hardback-9780823288526","title":"Circling the Elephant; A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity (Hardback) 9780823288526","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eCircling the Elephant\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJohn J. Thatamanil (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780823288526\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 2 June 2020\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e320 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.632 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian theologians have for some decades affirmed that they have no monopoly on encounters with God or ultimate reality and that other religions also have access to religious truth and transformation. If that is the case, the time has come for Christians not only to learn about but also from their religious neighbors. \u003ci\u003eCircling the Elephant \u003c\/i\u003eaffirms that the best way to be truly open to the mystery of the infinite is to move away from defensive postures of religious isolationism and self-sufficiency and to move, in vulnerability and openness, toward the mystery of the neighbor.\u003cbr\u003e Employing the ancient Indian allegory of the elephant and blind(folded) men, John J. Thatamanil argues for the integration of three often-separated theological projects: theologies of religious diversity (the work of accounting for why there are so many different understandings of the elephant), comparative theology (the venture of walking over to a different side of the elephant), and constructive theology (the endeavor of re-describing the elephant in light of the other two tasks).\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCircling the Elephant \u003c\/i\u003ealso offers an analysis of why we have fallen short in the past. Interreligious learning has been obstructed by problematic ideas about \"religion\" and \"religions,\" Thatamanil argues, while also pointing out the troubling resonances between reified notions of \"religion\" and \"race.\" He contests these notions and offers a new theory of the religious that makes interreligious learning both possible and desirable.\u003cbr\u003e Christians have much to learn from their religious neighbors, even about such central features of Christian theology as Christ and the Trinity. This book envisions religious diversity as a promise, not a problem, and proposes a new theology of religious diversity that opens the door to robust interreligious learning and Christian transformation through encountering the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePreface: Autobiography and Comparative Theology\u003c\/i\u003e   xi\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNote on Transliteration\u003c\/i\u003e   xix\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/b\u003e: Revisiting an Old Tale   1\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e1\u003c\/b\u003e Religious Difference and Christian Theology: Thinking About,\u003cbr\u003e Thinking With, and Thinking Through   21\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e2\u003c\/b\u003e The Limits and Promise of Exclusivism and Inclusivism: \u003cbr\u003e Assessing Major Options in Theologies of Religious Diversity   41\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e3\u003c\/b\u003e No One Ascends Alone: Toward a Relational Pluralism   70\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e4\u003c\/b\u003e Comparative Theology after Religion?   108\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e5\u003c\/b\u003e Defining the Religious: Comprehensive Qualitative Orientation   152\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e6\u003c\/b\u003e The Hospitality of Receiving: Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther\u003cbr\u003e King, Jr., and Interreligious Learning   193\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e7\u003c\/b\u003e God as Ground, Singularity, and Relation: Trinity and Religious Diversity   213\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e8\u003c\/b\u003e This Is Not a Conclusion   249\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e   259\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNotes\u003c\/i\u003e   263\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eIndex\u003c\/i\u003e   289\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Fordham University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52580425466136,"sku":"9780823288526","price":68.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/circling-the-elephant-a-comparative-theology-of-religious-diversity-hardback-9780823288526","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}